Engagement Ring: DePrisco

The most obvious place to get an engagement ring is Tiffany's. I
mentioned this to one of my flying buddies and he said "Tiffany's is
for people who shop at the mall".

We gave them a test. I wanted a stainless steel wedding band to match
my stainless steel watch, the only piece of jewelry that I had ever
worn prior to embarking on the marriage experiment. A Google search
for "stainless steel ring" brought up a wholesale supplier that would
be happy to sell rings at $1 each, but only in quantity 200, and then
a bunch of retailers selling the same rings for $25 each (should give
you some pause before buying jewelry at retail!). I ended up buying
one from Amazon.com for $7, but I had guessed wrong about my ring size
and the finish didn't match the watch exactly.

Store A: I showed the ring to the clerks at Tiffany's. They sniffed
and suggested that a $4000 platinum ring might be suitable. What
about modifying the ring or making something custom? That would take
12 weeks and it happened in factories on the other side of the planet.

Store B: I walked upstairs from Downtown Crossing to DePrisco's
showroom. One of the guys there measured my finger, looked at the
watch, took the ring into the back, and came back after a few minutes.
The ring was now perfectly sized and had a satin finish that was a
perfect match for the watch.

Prices at DePrisco are similar to what you'd pay at Internet
discounters, but you get the advantage of on-site knowledge, the
potential for customization, and a chance to look before you buy.

Do not look at the engagement ring as an investment. Diamonds are
plentiful worldwide and technology for growing perfect gem-quality
diamond crystals is improving every year. The retail-wholesale spread
alone ruins the possibility of reselling a diamond at anything close
to what you might have payed. How many hundred dollar bills would you
feel comfortable taking out of your wallet and burning? That's how
much you spend on a ring.